August 16, 2017 – Choosing to be thankful!

Choose to be thankful… that is my mantra for today. If you’ve followed me for a while you know I’m all about choices. We always have choices – even when we don’t like our options, we still choose how we respond to the situations around us.

Today, I’m choosing to be thankful for lightning, and the protecting hand of God. Yesterday afternoon a nasty storm came through our town. The view from my kitchen window went from beautiful and sunny – to dark, foreboding, and ominous in about 5 minutes. As the rain, thunder and lightning moved in we could tell the storm was directly on top of us.

While I stood at the kitchen sink washing dishes, a flash of lightning hit up the street followed simultaneously by a loud clap of thunder. Cole and I both jumped like scared cats. The power flickered but remained on and the rain kept pouring. A few minutes later a flash of lightning hit directly in front of my kitchen window filling the window with bright white light. I felt the force of the hit in the floor before the thunder had a chance to rumble. Looking out the window I saw green leaves and mulch raining down like feathers out of a torn pillow.

I ran out on the porch trying to see what had been hit and was greeted by the smell of burning rubber. I almost grabbed the umbrella to go check out the yard, but when another flash of lightning lit the sky up overhead I decided it probably wasn’t the best idea to run out in the yard with a metal lightning rod. Thank you Lord for a little wisdom!

We looked out all the windows but couldn’t see any damage. I was concerned about fire but none was to be seen. Eventually the storm moved on and our street became sunny again. Cole played outside, I fixed dinner, and about 8:00, when the house was starting to feel warm, we realized the AC was not working.

Uh oh.

No AC, and we also found the internet was out, our router wasn’t working, the breaker to the pool pump was tripped, and our smart home system was out. The AC unit being only 4 months old garnered us an after hours trip from the HVAC guys. That’s when we discover how the Lord had protected us.

The bolt of lightning hit the tree in our front yard leaving a cracks in the tree, a hole in the ground, and a trail of mulch left signs of how the currents flowed. It was crazy.

This morning, as I loaded Cole up for school, we discovered my car had also been hit and would not start. Multiple flashing lights indicate something is quite wrong. Before our journey with Kayleigh, all of these issues would have left me upset, angry, or in tears; but because of my precious girl, God has worked fundamental changes in my heart. Perspective, I have discovered, is everything.

As big as this lightning mess is, in the grand scheme of life it’s really not a big deal. Today was just another opportunity to choose thankfulness, to see God’s amazing hand of protection over our home and family. And the ornery side of me found the need to smile and say, “not today Satan.”

And guess what? Today was a good day. Our family is safe, we have insurance to help us with the losses, and we have amazing family and friends that come when we call. Yes indeed, we have many reasons to be thankful!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.